Older adults’ heterogeneous preferences for climate-proof urban blue-green spaces: A case of Chengdu, China

Abstract

Both global warming and population aging are key issues currently facing society. Urban blue-green space (UBGS) can effectively improve older adults’ health by providing cooling and opportunities to experience nature, both of which are important factors affecting their health. A better understanding of the landscape preferences of older adults and the importance they assign to different landscape elements is key for the appropriate planning and design of climate-proof UBGS. Such UBGS may increase the visiting frequency and outdoor activities of older adults. Therefore, it is important to understand the climate-proof design of UBGS from an older adults’ perspectives. However, the existing literature is insufficient, and only few studies have addressed climate-proof landscapes for older adults. To fill this gap, this study analyzed older adults’ perceptions and preferences for climate-proof landscapes provided by UBGS in the city of Chengdu, China, using face-to-face questionnaires (n = 332) and interviews. The participants were asked to share their preferences for climate-proof facilities among photos of 13 landscape elements and 44 landscape features and indicate the importance of each one. The data were subsequently imported into SPSS22 and analyzed using chi-square tests, the analytic hierarchy process, and correlational analyses. The results showed that older adults attach almost equal importance to landscape features related to comfort and safety, while large differences were observed in their preferences for landscape elements related to aesthetics and sensory stimulation. These results can guide the scientific improvement of climate-proof landscape planning and design and provide new ideas for actively responding to aging issues.